What’s holding you
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Hello friends, While vending at Punk Rock Pride last month, something on the pebble dash sidewalk caught my attention. It was a safety pin. I smiled, because safety pins are a hallmark of old school punk. They were a way to keep clothing together even if you didn’t know how to sew. Safety pins were handy for attaching patches and badges to jackets. Best of all? They lacked the respectability of neatly mended clothes. Safety pins could also be seen to represent the fierce way community holds together. Community isn’t neat or tidy. And sometimes holding it together hurts. The same is true for our lives. Our mental, emotional, spiritual, and physical states. Sometimes, we need a quick solution, even if it isn’t a long term fix. Sometimes, we must take a stab at making things right. Imperfection is a punk rock ethos. So is DIY. We don’t wait for the perfect moment, or the inviolate solution. We make things up as we go, stitching life together in the most basic way possible. When I want to complicate things, or my childhood perfectionism rears its head, I take a breath and try to remember: sometimes a safety pin is all I need. My motto for work and creativity is “Let it be easy.” And that holds true even when the world is burning and life feels hard. A safety pin says, “I can help you in the moment. Let’s keep going.” A safety pin holds us together until we have enough space to breathe more deeply, to strategize, to cut a new pattern and sew stronger seams. If a safety pin is what you have to offer yourself and others, use it. Don’t give up. Best wishes — Thorn
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T. Thorn Coyle
Hello friends, It’s the first of August, which in parts of the Northern Hemisphere is considered a time of first harvest. This varies by region, of course, and has been affected by climate change as well, but I always pause at the beginning of August to ponder life, and wealth, and the fruits we share. I reflect on my personal harvest and make time to thank all those whose labor keeps us fed.* Our household garden is filled with squash and cucumbers planted by my partner, and radishes the...
Hello friends, Are you struggling? Are you happy? Anxious? Overwhelmed? Courageous? Frantic? Disengaged? Do you have enough food to eat? A safe place to sleep? Friends? Connections? Work? Books? Music? Hobbies? Do you have enough to share? It’s that last one I return to, whenever times feel hard. Do I have enough to share? The answer, thankfully, is always yes. Now, I don’t have everything to share. I don’t always have the time and energy random people may want from me. And I only have so...
Hello friends, There are a wide variety of humans, but today I’m thinking about two basic types. There are the people who take themselves out of the picture. Write themselves out of the story. Slink to the edges of the frame. Others take center stage at all times. They fill the image, crowding out or overshadowing those around them. These people are the stars of the show, and the only Main Characters. But here’s the thing: no matter what our tendencies or training, we would all do well to...